The Bing Fund, a new angel investment arm of Microsoft, has announced its first two deals: Mobile developer service Buddy and video-game advertising startup Pinion. Bing Fund general manager Rahul Sood didn’t disclose the size of the investments in his blog post, and declined to offer more details on that front in a follow-up e-mail … Continue reading “Microsoft’s Bing Fund Makes First Investments: Buddy and Pinion”
Category: National
Startups and the Singularity: Which Boston Innovators Are Believers?
Hollywood has Scientology. The tech world has the Singularity. I’m not conflating their beliefs or intellectual frameworks. I’m not calling them cults. I’m just saying, either you believe it or you don’t. As it would happen, I was sitting around a table at a local startup shooting the breeze about what’s on entrepreneurs’ minds these … Continue reading “Startups and the Singularity: Which Boston Innovators Are Believers?”
Real Time Farms, Food52 Explore Merger
Real Time Farms, the Ann Arbor, MI-based online guide to local and organic food, has entered into a partnership with Food52, a popular cooking website based in New York City, to develop “a shared vision of community building and sustainable eating,” says co-founder Cara Rosean. Real Time Farms is part of a fledgling food tech … Continue reading “Real Time Farms, Food52 Explore Merger”
Fashion Project Hopes to Be Next Big Thing in Boston Re-Commerce
On the fashion front, there’s been a boom over the last six months or so in websites for reselling used clothing, notes Anna Palmer, co-founder and CEO of Fashion Project, based in Boston’s Leather District. “Boston has somehow created this little niche in the world of creating really successful re-commerce sites that are innovative and … Continue reading “Fashion Project Hopes to Be Next Big Thing in Boston Re-Commerce”
The Event Event: A Photo Gallery
We went “meta” in San Francisco this Tuesday, staging an event that was all about—you guessed it—events. The “Event Event” featured an on-stage conversation with all three founders of San Francisco-based Eventbrite—Kevin Hartz, Julia Hartz, and Renaud Visage—along with Eventbrite board member and former Ticketmaster CEO Sean Moriarty. The gathering attracted a capacity crowd to … Continue reading “The Event Event: A Photo Gallery”
Visible Market Catches Wall Street’s Eye With Stock-Tracking App
Ever since Jennifer Johnson started working in financial services in the 1990s, she felt something was missing in all the technology available to traders who want to get information about stocks. “With the way [the data] is presented, it’s really hard to get a sense of what’s happening in the overall market,” she says. Sure, … Continue reading “Visible Market Catches Wall Street’s Eye With Stock-Tracking App”
Connect Takes on Programs after TechAmerica Closes San Diego Office
A move to restructure the operations at TechAmerica, the nonprofit technology trade association, has prompted its longtime San Diego representative, Kevin Carroll, to jump to Connect, the San Diego nonprofit focused on innovation and entrepreneurship. As an executive vice president at Connect, Carroll is now responsible for building a new program intended to help small-to-medium … Continue reading “Connect Takes on Programs after TechAmerica Closes San Diego Office”
Nodality Snags Pfizer Deal to Improve Autoimmune R&D, Diagnostics
South San Francisco-based Nodality has spent five years honing an enabling technology for personalized medicine, which could help patients avoid wasteful treatments and improve the success rate in new drug R&D. Now it has persuaded New York-based Pfizer (NYSE: [[ticker:PFE]]), the world’s biggest drugmaker, to buy into its vision. Nodality, which raised $15 million of … Continue reading “Nodality Snags Pfizer Deal to Improve Autoimmune R&D, Diagnostics”
Join Risa Stack, Tony Coles & More for ‘Reinventing Biotech’
Back in the old days, biotech companies used to dream about becoming a “FIBCO,” as in, “fully integrated biopharmaceutical company.” Entrepreneurs sought to raise lots of venture capital and invest it in everything from research to development to marketing and manufacturing. Most companies failed, but the industry’s first-generation success stories—Amgen, Genentech, Biogen, Genzyme—set a powerful … Continue reading “Join Risa Stack, Tony Coles & More for ‘Reinventing Biotech’”
Two Years After Rising from Ashes, Aegerion Preps for Drug Debut
When Marc Beer joined Cambridge, MA-based Aegerion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:AEGR]]) as CEO in August 2010, the company was $4 million in debt, nearly insolvent, and “not following a clear path,” he says. By October of that year, Beer, a former Genzyme executive, had worked out a development plan for the Aegerion’s cholesterol-lowering drug and taken the … Continue reading “Two Years After Rising from Ashes, Aegerion Preps for Drug Debut”
Seattle Genetics Gets $34.7M in Second-Quarter Sales of Cancer Drug
[Updated: 8:40 am PT, 8/9/12] Seattle Genetics generated steady sales of its cancer drug for the first two quarters of this year, and that disappointed some investors who were expecting to see more growth. The Bothell, WA-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGEN]]) said today it pulled in $34.7 million in sales of brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) in … Continue reading “Seattle Genetics Gets $34.7M in Second-Quarter Sales of Cancer Drug”
Starbucks and Square: This One’s About the Bankers
Updated 1:40 pm Pacific, see below Starbucks surprised the retail and tech worlds today with news that it will start using mobile-payments startup Square to process credit- and debit-card payments at U.S. coffee shops. And while a lot of the initial reaction has focused on the gee-whiz features possible with Square’s consumer smartphone app, the fundamental … Continue reading “Starbucks and Square: This One’s About the Bankers”
Wayne State Offers Free Patent Clinic to Detroit Entrepreneurs
On the heels of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office opening up its first-ever satellite location in Detroit, Wayne State’s law school has announced it will offer a free patent procurement clinic to qualifying local entrepreneurs. It’s the only pro bono patent law procurement clinic in Michigan. The clinic, located in Midtown at 471 Palmer, … Continue reading “Wayne State Offers Free Patent Clinic to Detroit Entrepreneurs”
Boundless, Battling Big Publishers, Rolls Out New Site to Replace Textbooks
A scrappy edtech startup from Boston is emerging today with a new website, new content, and a new resolve to fight the powers that be. Boundless Learning, which started in early 2011, has redesigned its free, open educational content platform for college students, in its public launch just ahead of the new school year. Boundless … Continue reading “Boundless, Battling Big Publishers, Rolls Out New Site to Replace Textbooks”
Connected Cars Show New Signs of Life, and Seattle Companies Benefit
For years, it seemed that most car owners were nowhere near the computer-laden machines of the future promised back in the days of “Knight Rider.” Sure, a rich guy could get a savvy computer system in his ride. But for your average Joe, an iPod connection was a feature to brag about. Today, that’s changing—and … Continue reading “Connected Cars Show New Signs of Life, and Seattle Companies Benefit”
Battery Maker A123 Takes Big China Investment, Averts Disaster
The Chinese takeover of U.S. cleantech interests continues. Today A123 Systems (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AONE]]), the Waltham, MA-based battery maker with plants in Michigan, said it has signed an agreement with China-based Wanxiang Group, a big automotive and energy firm, whereby Wanxiang could invest as much as $450 million in A123, starting with up to $75 million … Continue reading “Battery Maker A123 Takes Big China Investment, Averts Disaster”
Dreamit Ventures Unveils Summer Batch of Startups in New York
Today 15 companies due to graduate from the Dreamit Ventures business accelerator in New York will pitch their ideas to an expected audience of some 400, which includes potential investors and alumni of the program. Dreamit Ventures, a pre-seed stage venture firm based in Bryn Mawr, PA, runs its accelerator programs in Philadelphia in the … Continue reading “Dreamit Ventures Unveils Summer Batch of Startups in New York”
EMC, Care.com, Nexage, & More from the Boston Deals Roundup
Mobile advertising, health IT initiatives, and emotional analytics technology were among the winners in this last week’s deals in New England. —EMC (NYSE: [[ticker:EMC]]), the Hopkinton, MA-based data storage giant, inked a partnership with the personal computer maker Lenovo (HKSE: [[ticker:LNVGY]]) to develop and sell servers and storage systems. Lenovo chairman and CEO Yuanqing Yang said the deal—which … Continue reading “EMC, Care.com, Nexage, & More from the Boston Deals Roundup”
CardioDx Wins Medicare OK of Molecular Test for Heart Disease
CardioDx has spent three years marketing a new genetic test that can tell when a patient’s chest pain is a sign of serious heart disease, or no big cause for alarm. It still has a long way to go before becoming part of mainstream medicine, but now the company has taken a big step ahead … Continue reading “CardioDx Wins Medicare OK of Molecular Test for Heart Disease”
The Evolution of the 10-Second Mobile App
We’ve all heard the term “killer app” before. In the early days of PC-based computing, it was desktop apps like spreadsheets, while Web computing made search essential. In the early days of mobility, access to corporate email was seen as the killer app, but that’s become table stakes. Today, most companies are driven into mobility … Continue reading “The Evolution of the 10-Second Mobile App”
Xconomist of the Week Christina Lampe-Onnerud Talks Cleantech
It’s been less than a year since Boston-Power, a lithium-ion battery maker, announced it had raised a whopping $125 million Series F funding round from Beijing-based GSR Ventures—and was moving most of its operations to China to chase down the electric vehicle market in that country. It’s seeing the first big payoff from that decision. … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week Christina Lampe-Onnerud Talks Cleantech”
In Wake of Alzheimer’s Disaster, Wall Street Revisits Pfizer and J&J
The Alzheimer’s drug being jointly developed by New York area drug giants Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, along with Ireland’s Elan Pharmaceuticals, was so fondly anticipated on Wall Street over the past few years that analysts even adopted a nickname for it: bapi. But the drug—full name bapineuzumab—failed a late-stage trial, the companies said late … Continue reading “In Wake of Alzheimer’s Disaster, Wall Street Revisits Pfizer and J&J”
See You Tonight in San Francisco at Xconomy’s Event Event
Today’s the day I’ve been telling you about for a couple of months now: It’s your chance to catch Eventbrite co-founders Kevin Hartz, Julia Hartz, and Renaud Visage, along with Eventbrite board member (and former Ticketmaster CEO) Sean Moriarty, in conversation with yours truly at the Greenstart cleantech accelerator in downtown San Francisco. The theme tonight … Continue reading “See You Tonight in San Francisco at Xconomy’s Event Event”
GM Ventures Leads $12M Series C Round for NanoSteel
GM Ventures, the Detroit-based venture fund run by General Motors, announced it has made an investment in Providence, RI-based NanoSteel. David Paratore, CEO of NanoSteel, says GM Ventures was “one of the largest investors” in a $12 million Series C round, which also included investment from EnerTech Capital and Fairhaven Capital Partners. “GM brings to … Continue reading “GM Ventures Leads $12M Series C Round for NanoSteel”
Care.com Takes In $50M Series E for Global, Vertical Expansion
Waltham, MA-based Care.com announced this morning that it nabbed $50 million in a Series E financing led by new investor Institutional Venture Partners. Return backers including Matrix Partners, New Enterprise Associates, and Trinity Ventures also joined the round. This financing follows a $25 million round of funding announced in October 2011, and brings the total … Continue reading “Care.com Takes In $50M Series E for Global, Vertical Expansion”
More Cash for DocuSign: Google Ventures Now an Investor
DocuSign has raked in even more investment cash to help expand its electronic signature business. Today, the company says Google Ventures has contributed about $8 million to the company’s Series D financing, bringing that round of investment to a whopping $55.7 million. Total cash invested in the company now tops $120 million. DocuSign got its … Continue reading “More Cash for DocuSign: Google Ventures Now an Investor”
Atterocor Lands $16M Series A Round For Cancer Therapy
Ann Arbor, MI-based Atterocor announced Friday that it has raised $16 million in a Series A round led by Frazier, based in Seattle and Menlo Park, CA, and 5am Ventures, based in Waltham, MA and Menlo Park. The funding will go toward developing the company’s adrenal cancer therapy. Atterocor was founded in 2012 by Julia Owens, Raili Kerppola, … Continue reading “Atterocor Lands $16M Series A Round For Cancer Therapy”
After Persevering for 22 Years, Peregrine Semiconductor Marks IPO
[Updated 8/7/12 5:30 pm, with Peregrine pricing shares.] It’s been a long time coming, but San Diego’s Peregrine Semiconductor raised $77 million in its IPO, offering 5.5 million shares at $14, according to Renaissance Capital’s IPO website. That’s at the low end of its planned range of $14 to $16. Trading is set to begin tomorrow … Continue reading “After Persevering for 22 Years, Peregrine Semiconductor Marks IPO”
The Next Internet? Inside PARC’s Vision of Content Centric Networking
The Internet may be hurtling toward collapse under the strain of too much traffic. But PARC research fellow Van Jacobson thinks he knows how to fix it. He’s done it before. Back in the mid-1980s, when the Internet was seeing its first modest surge in usage, Jacobson noticed that data packets were piling up on … Continue reading “The Next Internet? Inside PARC’s Vision of Content Centric Networking”
Domain-Backed Adynxx Enters the Wide Open World of Pain Drug R&D
You may not be able to tell by looking at the R&D pipelines of Big Pharma companies, but pain is one of the bigger opportunities in new drug development. There are cheap, decades-old drugs out there everyone knows about. There are not a whole lot of pain drugs in development based on really novel biological … Continue reading “Domain-Backed Adynxx Enters the Wide Open World of Pain Drug R&D”
MIT Spinout Affectiva Gets $12M More from Big Investors to Pursue Big Idea
Affectiva knows how you feel. And Affectiva feels pretty good today. The Waltham, MA-based tech startup, which also has operations in Santa Clara, CA, has raised $12 million in Series C funding from Horizons Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (Digital Growth Fund), and previous investors, which include WPP and Myrian Capital. KPCB partner Mary … Continue reading “MIT Spinout Affectiva Gets $12M More from Big Investors to Pursue Big Idea”
Innovimmune Pursues Pharma Partners, Shuns VCs
When Anderson Gaweco started his biotech company in New York in 2010, he planned to follow the standard entrepreneurship blueprint-for-success and pursue venture capital financing. But the more Gaweco learned about the two compounds his company had developed to treat autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, the more convinced he was he didn’t need VC financing. “We … Continue reading “Innovimmune Pursues Pharma Partners, Shuns VCs”
Sarepta Holds Its Breath as Feds Order Halt to Ebola Work
Just when Sarepta Therapeutics had some news to get excited about, the company now has to brace itself for what could be a pretty big setback. The Bothell, WA-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SRPT]]) said last month that its experimental RNA-based drug for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy showed some encouraging signs of improving walking ability for boys … Continue reading “Sarepta Holds Its Breath as Feds Order Halt to Ebola Work”
Mayo and Myriad: Can Two Patent Rulings Chill Innovation?
Two recent patent cases have engendered considerable uncertainty regarding the ability of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to patent their commercial products and methods. The first case, Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Labs., Inc., relates to the patent eligibility of certain diagnostic methods. On March 20th, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the personalized medicine … Continue reading “Mayo and Myriad: Can Two Patent Rulings Chill Innovation?”
Halozyme Says Roche Work Unaffected by FDA Concerns over HyQ Program
San Diego’s Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:HALO]]) told analysts and investors today it cannot provide a new timeline for its derailed HyQ program until company officials can meet with FDA regulators. But when the company will meet with regulators was not addressed during a conference call this afternoon. The price of Halozyme’s stock plunged by 50 … Continue reading “Halozyme Says Roche Work Unaffected by FDA Concerns over HyQ Program”
Amazon (Officially) Leaps into Social Games
It’s been speculated for months that e-commerce titan Amazon would begin publishing its own casual games. Today, the company made it official with the release of “Living Classics,” a fairy-tale-themed game for Facebook. Amazon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]) didn’t indicate whether Amazon Game Studios would concentrate specifically on social games, which are generally light and entertaining “casual” … Continue reading “Amazon (Officially) Leaps into Social Games”
Boston’s Talent War: Startups Gaining Edge Over Big Companies?
When Sravish Sridhar was graduating from UT Austin, he got an offer letter from a hot, mid-size software company. The firm even sent him a silver-plated pen from Tiffany & Co. to sign the letter. It was a nice touch, but Sridhar declined. Instead of taking the sure thing, he joined United Devices, a distributed … Continue reading “Boston’s Talent War: Startups Gaining Edge Over Big Companies?”
Offerpop Gives Marketers Tools to Leverage Facebook and Twitter
Marketers are eager to know what users of Facebook and Twitter are interested in so they can get an inside track on how to pitch them more effectively. Enter Offerpop. The New York-based company has developed a platform that lets marketers create brand campaigns on those popular social networks, as well as to gather information … Continue reading “Offerpop Gives Marketers Tools to Leverage Facebook and Twitter”
SaaS Spreads to India and Beyond
Software as a service is a thriving and still growing industry with dozens of multi-million dollar companies making their mark around the world. According to Gartner, global spending on the Software-as-a-Service (SAAS) market is projected to grow 17.9percent in 2012 to $14.5 billion and is projected to be worth $22.1 billion by 2015. IPOs and acquisitions … Continue reading “SaaS Spreads to India and Beyond”
How Wavii Turned #NBCFail into a Real-Time Feed for Olympics Fans
When the Summer Olympics got under way, the folks at Seattle startup Wavii figured they had a great test case for exploring some new ways of visualizing content. With thousands of voices online pumping out information about a shared topic, Wavii could do what it does best: Crawl an enormous database of things being discussed … Continue reading “How Wavii Turned #NBCFail into a Real-Time Feed for Olympics Fans”
Active Endpoints Launches Software for Simple Enterprise Mobile Access
You could say that Active Endpoints’ latest product release takes a bare essentials approach to enterprise mobility. The Waltham, MA-based company was founded in 2003 and developed collaboration and workflow software for IT and business departments within companies. Last year it introduced its Cloud Extend software, based around the idea that the average user only … Continue reading “Active Endpoints Launches Software for Simple Enterprise Mobile Access”
U.S. Biotech Clusters Are Losing Their Anchor Tenants, and It Hurts
Every industry needs its anchors, the companies that everyone looks up to as models of success. Think Apple, GE, Boeing. Biotech is no different, as it has been defined by trailblazers like Genentech, Genzyme, and more. But if you look around, biotech is clearly losing its anchors. And this worrisome trend isn’t just happening in … Continue reading “U.S. Biotech Clusters Are Losing Their Anchor Tenants, and It Hurts”
Massachusetts Nabs $16.9M in Funding for “Health Information Exchange”
Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick’s administration announced today that the state has pulled in $16.9 million in federal funding for its so-called health information exchange, which will enable healthcare providers, hospitals, and the like exchange clinical data through a secure network. The money comes as a combination of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant funds and Medicaid … Continue reading “Massachusetts Nabs $16.9M in Funding for “Health Information Exchange””
Developers Are the New Decision-Making Elite of the Digital Economy
Ever since the birth of interactive Web applications in the mid 1990s, we’ve been on a path of convergence between content and software platforms. This evolution has continued for the past one and a half decades, giving birth to new labor markets centered in software development and overall raising the importance and role that developers … Continue reading “Developers Are the New Decision-Making Elite of the Digital Economy”
LevelUp Leads “Cambrian Explosion” of Mobile Payments & Rewards
Don’t bet against Boston-based SCVNGR. That’s what I’ve been hearing lately. You take that much talent and that much money and throw them at a big market, like mobile payments or rewards programs or local deals—call it what you want—something’s going to stick. That something seems to be LevelUp, the mobile app created by founder … Continue reading “LevelUp Leads “Cambrian Explosion” of Mobile Payments & Rewards”
Life Sciences Roundup: Halozyme, Avalon Ventures, Auspex & More
In case anyone noticed last week that I was missing, I’ve enclosed a photo below from Rocky Mountain National Park, where I spent much of my vacation. And in case anyone is wondering why I came back, here’s my latest update on San Diego’s life sciences news. —In a huge setback for Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ: … Continue reading “Life Sciences Roundup: Halozyme, Avalon Ventures, Auspex & More”
D:Hive, Rock Ventures Partner to Lure Entrepreneurs to Detroit
Rock Ventures, Dan Gilbert’s umbrella company that oversees nearly all of his efforts in downtown Detroit, announced this week that it will partner with D:Hive to help enliven downtown by drawing entrepreneurs and young professionals to the city. We introduced you to D:Hive, which functions as a welcome center/resource hub to new Detroit arrivals, a … Continue reading “D:Hive, Rock Ventures Partner to Lure Entrepreneurs to Detroit”
SportStream’s App Bottles the Social Media Explosion in Sports
I don’t have much of a head for sports. If you said “ERA” my first thought would be Equal Rights Amendment, not Earned Run Average. And being a cable TV cord-cutter, I never watch televised games. But I do know about iPads, social media, and next-generation-TV technologies. So at the risk of sounding like a … Continue reading “SportStream’s App Bottles the Social Media Explosion in Sports”
Xconomist of the Week: John Reed on Sanford-Burnham’s Drug Pipeline
In the decade since John Reed stepped in as chief executive, San Diego’s Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute has basically doubled in size. The nonprofit research facility has added a campus in Orlando, FL, the full-time faculty has grown from 52 to 89, and the overall staff has increased from 520 to 1,200. Today the institute … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: John Reed on Sanford-Burnham’s Drug Pipeline”
Aveo, Mersana, Haemonetics, & More from the Boston Life Sciences Roundup
We’ve seen a mix of new life sciences players, funding announcements, acquisitions, and clinical trial updates this week in New England. —My colleague Arlene profiled Cambridge, MA-based Thrombolytic Science International and its effort to produce a drug that can dissolve clots after strokes without the time limit that comes with the existing clot dissolver on the market … Continue reading “Aveo, Mersana, Haemonetics, & More from the Boston Life Sciences Roundup”